Improving toxicology knowledge in preclinical medical students using high-fidelity patient simulators.

BACKGROUND: Superior patient care and optimal physician training are often mutually elusive in the Emergency Department setting. Highfidelity patient simulators (HFPSs) are being used with increasing frequency in the training of medical students (MS) because they enable students to develop and refine medical competency in a non-threatening and safe environment. However, learner outcomes using HFPSs in this setting have not been well studied.

OBJECTIVES: The objective of this pilot study was to determine the effectiveness of HFPSs in simulation (SIM) training as a learning tool for preclinical second-year MS to further increase their toxicology knowledge.

METHODS: Second-year MS at a Problem Based Learning (PBL) medical school received a PBL toxicology teaching session in the middle of the semester. One week later, the students participated in a SIM exercise based on issues taken from the PBL case. The SIM exercise required that students address learning issues such as identifying abnormal findings, ordering tests, and, ultimately, initiating treatment on a full-scale HFPS mannequin. A supervised on-line test consisting of 10 multiple choice questions regarding the student's understanding of the learning issues was completed before the PBL class and directly before and after the SIM to determine the effectiveness of the HFPS use. Immediate video-assisted feedback was provided by emergency medicine attendings.

RESULTS: Use of HFPSs during SIM exercises and in combination with PBL significantly increased toxicology knowledge in secondyear MS as determined by the improvement of on-line test scores (% correct answers) from 59% before PBL / before SIM to 69% after PBL / before SIM to 80% after PBL / after SIM.

CONCLUSION: This study suggests that HFPS may be a valuable tool in helping to improve toxicology knowledge in second-year MS at a key transition period prior to beginning clerkship experiences. Incorporation of HFPS into PBL curricula may also be beneficial to MS in other areas of study where interactive learning could assist in evoking emotional realism while also enhancing critical thinking and acquisition of knowledge thereby facilitating the transition from theory to practice.